Ranking Wladimir Klitschko Above Max Schmeling. Can It Be Justified?

[Barn]

When his career is over I'd gladly rate Wlad higher then Schmeling, Schmeling may have him with a few big names but Wlad's achievements speak for themselves really.

If he keeps this up he should be in the top 10 with most people, people rate Larry Holmes in the top 10 simply because of his title defences and reign so why shouldn't Wlad ?, both were / are in weak eras the difference is that Wlad is taking on the best out there and Holmes didn't.

As said "if" he keeps this up he should be in the top 10, I'll rate him when he's retired, he's still got a few good years in him and can't see anyone on the horizon that can beat him apart from "maybe" Haye.

Ih Haye ever mans up that is.

[New England]

In terms of greatness and notoriety it's certainly not even an arguement worth having

the Klitshcko's arent big anywhere outside of germany

max schmeling's fights took place when boxing was a much bigger deal in general. the heavyweight championship was the most coveted trophy in sport.
and additionally he was part of a germany / us rivalry, making his fights transcend the sport


the klitschko's dont come close to that


that being said i'd take the K bro's over plenty of the heavyweights folk have mentioned, or at least give them a fighting chance.

they are bigger and stronger than other heavyweights
people are bigger and stronger than in past generations

this cannot be overlooked in heavyweight boxing
they would have huge physical advantages over other heavyweights (power, length, strength)


of course there's stuff to think about:
would the referee allow the amount of clinching and wrestling that was allowed before the modern era?
that would certainly kill Wladimir's chances to fight his fight (though it would wear his opponents out physically)
vitali would just lean on a smaller heavyweight, chew up his best punches, and then continue looking like a robot and touching him)


in my eyes the Klitschko brothers are very good heavyweights historically because of their physical advantages (nobody has ever been in the sport who is close to their size with their skillsets. fighters of their size used to be literal sideshows and genetic freaks, now large athletic men are all over athletics (mostly other sports))

[DET. IRONSIDE]

Lets wait until Wlad's reign is over before we discuss this.

I'd say Wlad is the superior boxer, the better technician, better skilled etc.

However, that win vs Joe Louis is always gonna be diamond that only a long reign at the top will overshadow in today's climate.

[SCtrojansbaby]

LOL You people never cease to amaze me. 6'1 180 Max ***ing scmeling would beat Wlad... I mean really? I bet you think Cy Young would strike out Albert Pujols too lol

[SBleeder]

LOL You people never cease to amaze me. 6'1 180 Max Schmeling would beat Wlad... I mean really? I bet you think Cy Young would strike out Albert Pujols too lol

Didn't 220 pound David Haye beat 310 pound Valuev?

Didn't 200 pound Joe Louis knock out 255 pound Primo Carnera?

Evander over Foreman?

You and Frankenfrank can keep overrating size; Schmeling's ability would have been too much for any heavyweight today.

By the way, Schmeling never weighed 180 for a title fight. He was over 190 when he knocked out Joe Louis.

[bklynboy]

LOL You people never cease to amaze me. 6'1 180 Max ***ing scmeling would beat Wlad... I mean really? I bet you think Cy Young would strike out Albert Pujols too lol

Cy Young might not be able to but Bob Feller certainly could. It's hard to compare fighters from different eras. The game was very different. The question you have to ask yourself is could Wlad hit a Schmelling as often as he hits a Samuel Peter or Eddie Chambers? If yes then he would demolish Schmellng, Dempsey, Tunney and all these other lighter fighters. On the other hand he might miss and miss and miss and be countered all night; getting tired, losing rounds, getting frustrated as he's getting hit and then in the championship rounds being on the receiving end of some big combinations and going down.

[Wild Blue Yonda]

When his career is over I'd gladly rate Wlad higher then Schmeling, Schmeling may have him with a few big names but Wlad's achievements speak for themselves really.

If he keeps this up he should be in the top 10 with most people, people rate Larry Holmes in the top 10 simply because of his title defences and reign so why shouldn't Wlad ?, both were / are in weak eras the difference is that Wlad is taking on the best out there and Holmes didn't.

As said "if" he keeps this up he should be in the top 10, I'll rate him when he's retired, he's still got a few good years in him and can't see anyone on the horizon that can beat him apart from "maybe" Haye.

I am not one to really rush to Holmes' defense (his title reign doesn't get enough criticism for mine, & unlike Klitschko, he was hardly an upstanding & decent gent), but two things stand out here to distinguish the scenarios of their careers...

1. Holmes didn't drop a fight until he was thirty-six. Klitschko has been sparked by mediocre opponents three or four times to this point.

2. Though they were largely far from great, Holmes' title challengers, on average, were unquestionably better than Klitschko's have been. Sure, you could say Klitschko has more readily accepted the different challenges out there, but the fact also remains Holmes' opponents were better, simply by virtue of the fact Klitschko's era cannot feasibly be any worse than it is.

[SCtrojansbaby]

Didn't 220 pound David Haye beat 310 pound Valuev?

Didn't 200 pound Joe Louis knock out 255 pound Primo Carnera?

Evander over Foreman?

You and Frankenfrank can keep overrating size; Schmeling's ability would have been too much for any heavyweight today.

By the way, Schmeling never weighed 180 for a title fight. He was over 190 when he knocked out Joe Louis.

is 10 pounds really going to make a difference




VS



Seriously are you really trying to argue who would win

[sonnyboyx2]

Wlad & Vitali are two lumbering Behemoths with Wlad being the better of the two brothers, i cannot rate either any higher than what i would rate Jesse Willard & Primo Carnera and Max rates higher than them all... Vitali ranks as the worst of the 4 behind Willard, Carnera & Wlad due to Vitali never having beaten any opponent who could be rated as being above Class D, Willard beat Jack Johnson & Floyd Johnson... Carnera beating Loughran, Sharkey & Uzcudun..Wlad beating Byrd, Rahman & Mercer.

[The_Demon]

is 10 pounds really going to make a difference




VS



Seriously are you really trying to argue who would win

You are really overrating how much size matters